Late to the Party
by writingreadingsinging
Summary: We all know the story of the zodiac animals, and how the rat tricked the cat. But the part that got lost in history is the part about the lazy panda, who ended up sleeping the whole way through and missing the party. Minako is the newest panda spirit. After being forced out of the main house and into the house of Shigure, she meets Kyo, and, boy, do things get interesting.
1. Chapter 1

I whined loudly and obnoxiously as Hatori dragged me up to the house in which I'd be staying. Akito had decided that he didn't want Hatori to waste his time with me anymore, as Akito's health had been steadily declining. Due to this, I was to be removed from the Sohma estate and move into some guy named Shigure's house. I didn't know the guy all that well, only that he, too, was a part of the zodiac, and that he and Hatori had been school friends.

Hatori knocked on the front door loudly before opening it and entering. "Wow, nice manners there, Sea Dragon." I muttered under my breath, still letting him drag me wherever he was going. "Hush, Minako." Hatori's voice was annoyed but affectionate. "Why do I have to be here? I miss it back on the estate where nobody knew I existed! How are we going to explain to them what I am?" I said, causing Hatori to pause in his steps. I wasn't prepared for this and bumped into the back of him, causing us both to stumble. He, being the more graceful of the two of us, regained his footing and stayed upright. I, however, fell directly on my face, causing a loud crashing noise to resonate throughout the house. "Kyo, Yuki, back so soon? I hope you're not fighting again!" A sing-song voice calls out. A man poked his head out of a sliding door in front of us, looking around before his eyes landed on us. "Hatori!" He yelled over-enthusiastically. "Shigure. I've brought Minako, the girl I called you about." Shigure looked down at me and I gave him a sheepish grin and wave from my spot on the floor. Shigure laughed and invited the two of us to sit down and have some tea.

"So, Hatori, does Minako know?" Shigure asked, trying to seem inconspicuous. "About the curse? Yes. In fact, she's under it herself." Hatori replied, taking a long drag of his cigarette. "You know, Hatori, you'd think with your being a doctor and all you would realize that smoking is very bad for your health." I interjected, trying to change the subject. "Oh really? That's strange, I thought all the animals from the zodiac had been accounted for in the family. Which one is she?" Shigure and Hatori ignored my comment. "Would you like to explain, Minako?" Hatori asked, turning to look at me. I let out a long groan, slamming my head down against the table. I could practically feel Hatori rolling his eyes at me.

Sighing, I lifted my head back up and began. "Okay, so you know the story of the cat and the rat and the party and God and all the animals, so I'm not even going to tell you about that. The part that not everyone knows about is the part about the panda. See, pandas are naturally very lazy and sleepy animals. Well, when God sent out the invitations to the animals to come to this big dinner party, the panda wanted to attend, especially since there was going to be food. The panda got ready to go, but it knew it still had some time left before it had to leave for the party. So, it decided that it would take a nap, so that it was refreshed and full of energy in order to dance the night away with the rest of the animals. But the problem is, once the panda fell asleep, it didn't wake up until the next day, after the party had started and ended. The panda was very sad, and it went to God to explain what had happened, but God told the panda that since it was lazy and slept through the party, it wouldn't be a part of the zodiac." Shigure was staring at me in bewilderment, but I continued. "Nobody knows why the panda is even a part of the curse, but it probably has something to do with the fact that it was one of the 14 animals that were invited to the party. And well, just like the cat, I'm an outcast. I'm okay with it though, I've always lived on the Sohma estate, and I rarely leave my quarters, so I've never really had to deal with any problems."

Our story time was interrupted by two boys storming into the house, yelling at each other. Well, one was yelling, the other one was just replying with animosity. They were followed by a girl, who looked like she was in an immense amount of distress. She was hopelessly trying to plead with them and get them to stop fighting, but it didn't look like they were giving up any time soon. "You listen here, you damn rat! You just wait until I'm through with you! You'll be sorry you ever spoke to me!" One of them with bright orange hair yelled. "Don't worry, stupid cat. I already am." The other one said, his voice low and cool. "Kyo, Yuki! You're back! And Miss Tohru Honda! Did you three get what you needed from the store?" Shigure asked brightly, ignoring the insults the two boys were throwing at each other. "We sure did, I'm going to make dinner here in a bit." The girl gave Shigure a cute smile. My stomach growled loudly at the thought of dinner, which caused everyone to stop and look at me. "Who is she?" The ginger asked, rather rudely in my opinion. "Kyo, don't be rude. This is Minako, she's going to be living with us." The boy looked at him in outrage. "What?! Why?!" I frowned and stood up, my hands on my hips. "Look, I don't want to be here anymore than you do, you orange haired ass!" He looked at me, practically seething. "I'd much rather be back at the Sohma estate, in my room, sipping tea, and reading a book! It's not my fault that the asshole who is Akito forced me to come live here so don't treat me like it's my fault!" I yelled, narrowing my eyes dangerously. "Akito? So then... are you-," The other boy, who I assumed by process of elimination, was Yuki started. "Yeah, I have the curse. But surprisingly enough, I'm not a member of the zodiac. Or at least, I'm not treated like one." I explained, sitting back down. "What's that supposed to mean?" Kyo asked irritably, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

I told them the story of the panda, and for awhile it was quiet. Then, Tohru started to cry. "Why are you crying?! Are you okay?! I didn't say anything to upset you did I?!" I asked frantically. She shook her head. "N-No... it's just so sad that the poor panda didn't get to go to the dinner with the rest of the animals!" I patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay. It was it's own fault. Honestly, it wouldn't have ever learned it's lesson if it hadn't missed the banquet." I said, trying my best to console her. This only made her cry harder, which caused me to freak out some more. "Please don't cry, I didn't mean to upset you even more!" She wiped her eyes and shook her head once more. "You didn't upset me, I'm just amazed that you're not upset about it. Didn't they exclude you like they did Kyo?" Kyo turned red and started to yell at her, but I covered his mouth with my hand, sending him a glare out of the corner of my eye. "Sure they did, but I didn't mind. Unlike the cat, the panda missed the banquet because of its own fault, not because some nasty rat tricked it." I told her. "I don't mind, really. At the New Year's banquet, I just have a bunch of food brought up to my room and I eat it all by myself and it's so delicious-" I stopped talking about it as my mind began to think of all the amazing food I used to eat.

Kyo shoved my hand off of his mouth. "Don't touch me!" He growled, glaring at me. I snapped out of my trance and glared back. "Don't yell so much then!" He stood up, practically shaking with anger. "Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?!" He yelled, which was only proving my point. I stood up and crossed my arms calmly. "Yelling doesn't fix anything. Often times, it only makes the situation worse. Unless you're yelling at a competition or a game or something of the sort. And then it's only really good when you're yelling support for the team you like and-" I started going off into one of my many tangents. "This girl is crazy!" Kyo cut me off before storming out of the house, kicking the door down in the process. "Kyo! Please try to stop destroying my house!" Shigure called out, looking pretty desperate. "What's his problem?" I asked, frowning. Hatori finally spoke up from his spot, putting out his cigarette in an ash tray. "I think he's having trouble comprehending that there's someone else like him, who isn't a part of the Chinese zodiac, but still suffer from the curse. And what's more, you're excluded from the rest of the zodiac, like him. I think he finds your carefree attitude about being treated that way somewhat frustrating."

 _I wonder why that is..._ I though to myself, staring off into the direction Kyo had just stormed off in.


	2. Chapter 2

The next time I saw Kyo, I was teaching Yuki and Tohru how to play poker. It has started out with me just teaching Tohru, but she managed to be able to convince him to come join us. He was quiet and shy at first, but eventually he began to make little jokes here and there, and his normal 'cool' stoic expression had slipped into a small, friendly smile. "So, Yuki, I bet you're quite popular with the girls at your school. Tohru must have trouble keeping you all to yourself!" I said cheerfully, munching on a rice ball. The both froze, Yuki letting out a sigh of annoyance before Tohru started to freak out. "We're not a couple we're just good friends it's not like that there's no romantic attraction between us really and there's no way Yuki would be into me anyways I'm just little old me!" I looked at her with wide eyes before realizing my mistake. "I'm so sorry, I just assumed what with you two being so close and all, plus from the few times I've seen Yuki, he's never seemed cheerful but now he does! Although that might have just been because Akito is-" Yuki's hand shot out and grabbed onto my shirt. I looked at him with wide eyes. "Let's talk in the kitchen." He said, before standing up and dragging me to the kitchen.

Just as we were almost out of the room, the carrot-topped cat slammed the front door open. "What are you doing?" He asked with an air of annoyance once he saw Yuki and I. "Oh, Yuki just wanted to talk to me!" I said, giving him a smile. "Stop being so damn cheerful, it's obvious you pissed him off." He told me, sitting next to Tohru. "So, whatever you're doing, keep it up. I like it when that damn rat is upset." Yuki dropped me and turned to glare at Kyo. "You need to learn to keep your mouth shut, you stupid cat." His voice was quiet enough, but it was cold and filled with irritation. "Who are you calling stupid?!" Kyo asked, standing up and clenching his fists. "Well since you're obviously too idiotic to tell, I was talking to you." Kyo let out a growl and went to lunge at Yuki, but I stopped him by grabbing onto his leg and holding on as tight as I could. "What the- GET OFF OF ME!" He tried to pry me off, but I was latched on. "Kyo, I think you're forgetting that she's a panda. She has a surprising amount of strength." Shigure said smugly, poking his head into the room. Kyo glared at him with fire in his eyes as he fumed about his situation. "GET OFF OF ME, YOU DAMN PANDA!" I shook my head. "You need to be less violent, you should be more understanding towards the people around you!" Needless to say, that was the day that Kyo decided he hated me!

A few days later, I stayed home while the other three went out shopping. Kyo had originally denied wanting to go, but the minute Yuki said he would go, Kyo jumped up and demanded that he would go, but only for Tohru. _It's obvious those two both want her attention, it's quite adorable really_ , I thought to myself as I read a book. When they got home, I watched quietly as Yuki told Shigure and Tohru he wasn't feeling good. Shuffling over, I offered one of my boiled bamboo shoots to him. He gave me a nervous look and turned it down politely. "No, you need to eat it. It strengthens the immune system." I said, shoving it into his mouth. He stared at me blankly as everyone watched us. "Chew." I grabbed his chin and forced it to move up and down. "You know, Minako, I'm not sure that Yuki likes bamboo shoots as much as you do. " Tohru suggested, smiling at me softly. I shook my head. "It will help him get healthy." Yuki grabbed my wrist gently and pulled my hand away. Chewing and swallowing the rest of the bamboo shoot, he stared at me for awhile. "You know, that wasn't half bad." He said curiously. He let go of my wrist and I sat back triumphantly.

Tohru mentioned that maybe Yuki should stay home the next day, seeing as we had our endurance run. I blinked my eyes in surprise, realizing that it would be my very first day at their high school, and I already had to do exercise. As Kyo started yelling in the background as usual, I slammed my head down on the table and groaned loudly. "U-Uh, Minako? Are you okay?" Tohru asked with worry in her voice. I faked coughed, giving her a sad look. "I think I'm coming down with something as well, Tohru, maybe I had better stay home tomorrow-" Kyo jumped in between us, yelling again. "All right rat boy, tomorrow we're going to find out who's the fastest! That includes you, panda girl! If you think you're so much better than everyone else, you're going to join in with us and prove whether or not you really are!" He pointed back and forth at Yuki and I. "Um, Kyo, Yuki and Minako are starting to come down with a cold-" Tohru tried to come to our defense. "Then you'd better give them something to eat and put them to bed! They're not getting out of this one!" I had deduced that no amount of convincing on my end would get Kyo to arguing and fighting with Yuki, so I just gave up. This time, however, he had brought me into it.

I stood up, glowering at him. "Uh, Minako?" Tohru asked, slight fear in her voice. "Are you-" I cut her off by pushing Kyo up against a wall, holding him there. "HEY WHAT'S THE BIG-" I shut him up with a low growl. "Listen here, you dumb egotistical little boy. I no longer care if you try to get in fights with Yuki, but do not bring me into your petty little quarrels. I will have nothing to do with you or your immature insecurities. Do you understand?" My voice was calm and even, but held an undertone of menace. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Just get off of me!" He said, glaring at me harshly. I backed up, allowing him to push away from me. "Crazy woman…" He muttered under his breath as he left the room.

The room was silent as I sat back down and continued eating my bamboo shoots. "Uh, I thought-" Tohru began. "That Minako was against threats and violence? True, she has a naturally docile character, but if what I've heard from Hatori is true, she can become quite dangerous when provoked or pushed too far." I pretended they weren't talking about me as if I weren't there.


End file.
